Joshua

1 Joshua the son of Nun

was a mighty warrior

and the next prophet

after Moses.

His name means,

"The Lord rescues,"

and Joshua did rescue Israel

by defeating their enemies,

as he led Israel into the land

God had promised them.

2Joshua was glorious

as he raised his sword

and gave the signal

to attack a city.

3He had more courage

than any warrior before him,

because he was fighting

at the Lord's command.

4Joshua even kept the sun

from moving across the sky,

so that one day lasted

as long as two.

5His enemies attacked all around,

but he prayed

to our Mighty God,

and the Lord, the Most High,

made deadly hailstones fall

on the enemy army.

6As the battle moved down

the mountain slopes

Joshua defeated and destroyed

the enemy army,

so that everyone would know

he fought under the command

of the Mighty Lord of Israel,

and that the Lord himself

fought on their side.

Caleb

7 Earlier, Caleb son of Jephunneh,

along with Joshua,

proved he was loyal to God

by standing up to the people

who rebelled against Moses.

These two held back the people

from sinning

and put an end

to their complaints.

8Six hundred thousand men died,

but Caleb and Joshua

were spared

and led Israel into the land

rich with milk and honey.

9The Lord kept Caleb strong,

and although Caleb was old,

he captured the hill country.

Then he handed down his land

to his descendants

10to remind Israel of the benefits

of being faithful to the Lord.

The Judges

11 Some of Israel's special leaders

were the famous judges

who never turned from the Lord

to worship idols.

And we still honor them

because they were faithful.

12Though they are now dead,

we pray their good names

will be honored by the way

their descendants live.

The Prophet Samuel

13 The Lord loved Samuel,

the prophet who appointed

the first kings of Israel

and other rulers.

14Samuel judged the nation

according to the Lord's Law,

and so the Lord

watched over Israel.

15The people knew that Samuel

spoke for the Lord,

because Samuel was faithful,

and his words came true.

16One time, Israel's enemies

attacked from every side,

but Samuel prayed

to the Mighty Lord

and sacrificed a lamb.

17Then the Lord thundered

his answer from heaven

18and defeated the leaders

of Tyre and Philistia.

19Before Samuel died,

he asked the Lord and the king

to be his witnesses

so that no one could accuse him

of ever taking anything

that wasn't rightfully his--

not even a pair of sandals.

20And then, after he had died,

he spoke from the grave

and predicted King Saul's death,

which brought to an end

Saul's disobedience.